When third-year Tensas basketball coach Charlie Williams returned to the region for his second stint coaching the Panthers he came home to three small rural northeastern Louisiana communities that seem to get along less and less as time went by.

The link between Newellton, St. Joseph and Waterproof was Tensas High School. And today the common bond is over Panther basketball.

Tensas, the tenth-seed in the 2016 Class 1A boys basketball playoffs, has pulled off back-to-back wins over higher-seeds and will now in the semifinals against No. 3 Southern Lab Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.

After beating No. 7 Delhi 66-62 in the second-round and No. 2 Northwood-Lena 62-57 in the quarterfinals, the Panthers ride into Lake Charles with not only a lot of confidence but an entire community wrapped up in its success.

“The community is really behind us now,” Williams said. “When I got here the towns were divided. Now we have 3-4 buses of supporters coming down to the game (Thursday). It is part of our season. It is our slogan ‘One team, one dream.’”

The Panthers (24-9) have built the program around a strong nucleus of talent including lone senior Grant Jackson and Lamonte Bass and Dallas James.

Jackson came to his coach early in the year and promised to “get him a ring”. In the schools first ever trip to the Top 28 in boys basketball the team will get a chance to fulfill that promise.

“This group has been about working hard together and not giving up,” Jackson said. “It would mean a lot (to win the championship).”

Southern Lab (24-5) will be making its first Top 28 appearance since 2012 when the team made back-to-back trips 2011-2012 and was state runner-up in 2011.

“They have great length and are very experienced,” Williams said. “They have been there before but we won’t be intimidated. I told our kids to act like we have been there before and just play our game and do what we do.”